Mattia Binotto has now chosen Audi candidate to fill Jonathan Wheatley’s void

Follow us on Google Discover

Audi project lead Mattia Binotto has now decided against hiring a direct replacement for Jonathan Wheatley, with Inaki Rueda due to become their deputy team principal.

Wheatley resigned from his role as the team principal of Audi in March, despite having only held the position since last April. The Briton had left Red Bull to move to Hinwil, Switzerland to work under Binotto as Audi transformed Sauber, but the pair are thought to have clashed.

It is said that Wheatley and Binotto frequently clashed at Audi, as the former did not receive the levels of control that he had expected as their team principal. While Wheatley led Audi’s race operations, Binotto still held overall control across the major decisions within the team.

Additionally, it is believed that Wheatley’s wife had struggled to settle in Switzerland so they sought a return to England. Audi confirmed Wheatley’s exit within hours of him being linked with Aston Martin, too, as the Silverstone squad look to let Adrian Newey focus on their car.

Who’s the greater F1 driver, Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna?

Two icons of the sport and one unforgettable rivalry, but who's your choice? 🤔

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Mattia Binotto turns to long-time ally Inaki Rueda to fill Jonathan Wheatley’s Audi void

Binotto confirmed that Audi would not directly replace Wheatley soon after the Briton quit, but the Italian clarified that the team would look to fill his void in charge of their race team. Binotto has not looked to take over both roles in full, but rather to have someone help him.

READ MORE: Who is Jonathan Wheatley? All to know about the former Audi team principal

And Auto Action now reports that Binotto has decided to promote Audi F1 sporting director Rueda to the role of deputy team principal to fill Wheatley’s void. Rueda is not set to gain a lot of additional duties in the new role, but he can free Binotto to focus on other priorities.

Binotto is not believed to have explored hiring an external candidate and has instead opted to promote an internal figure with whom he has a long-standing connection in Rueda. They also worked together at Ferrari before Rueda joined Audi in 2024 in a reunion with Binotto.

Promoting a figure like Rueda, with whom Binotto enjoys a strong relationship, could allow Audi to avoid the situation they encountered with Wheatley working under the Italian. It is noted that Audi accepted that Wheatley and Binotto’s relationship had become untenable.

Audi realised on qualifying day at the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix that they could not continue with Wheatley working under Binotto, as their relationship had reached a breaking point. Audi chose to wait until after the race weekend to reveal Wheatley’s exit.

Now, Binotto has chosen to give Rueda more responsibilities after seeing what he offered as Audi’s sporting director since October 2024. Rueda left Ferrari at the end of 2023, and has since led Audi’s sporting activities – including dealing with the FIA and trackside regulations.

Rueda spent the best part of 10 years at Ferrari, for whom he initially served as their head of strategy and later as their head of sporting, effectively working as their sporting director. He also previously worked for Lotus as their race strategist before moving to Maranello in 2015.